Xeno and DarkSide: ANK Tower
by jcroth
Summary: A story of glory, two Lucarios that guard Existence known as Xeno and DarkSide have been invited to party the night away at Rayquazas new tower, A.N.K. Tower! How will this fare for our heroes? Find out by reading!
1. Part 1: Tower of Power

(My OC's in this story)  
(Xeno: Lucario, Guardian of all Dimensions, access to all elements except light and darkness, "will talk in normal text",  
{Outfit: Shulk's clothes, Mario's hat, Classic Sonic's Shoes},  
{Alternate Outfit: Anduin Wrynn's Outfit [World of Warcraft], Deck Satchel [Filled with Purify Priest Deck]},  
{Weapon: 2 Shulk's Monados [1 normal colored, one black, both controls all elements except light and darkness, can fuse elements for combo attacks]},  
{Misc: no shadow, half a DNA, _thoughts in italics_ })

(DarkSide: Lucario, Xeno's Shadow, Also Guardian of all Dimensions, controls light and darkness, **"will be speaking in bold"** ,  
{Outfit: Shulk's clothes [but black and shiny], Luigi's hat, Shadow [hedgehog]'s shoes},  
{Alternate Outfit: Anduin Wrynn's Outfit [Only difference is black replaces the blue], Deck Satchel [Filled with Shadow Priest Deck]}  
{Weapon: Squall's Gunblade [FF8] [can use anything as ammunition, boosts ammo's power by thousands],  
{Misc: the same person as Xeno, has the other half of Xeno's DNA, _**thoughts in bold italics**_ })

(Rayquaza: Rayquaza, Guardian of the O-Zone Layer, Xeno and DarkSide's ally, owner of A.N.K. Tower [A Mystery Dungeon, non-legendary Pokemon From Uber and OU tier live there], sent invitations to our heroes to party at the top of A.N.K. Tower)

Part 1 takes place in Xeno's PoV (Point of View)

A.N.K. Tower  
1F

As we enter the tower, I begin talking to DarkSide about the interior of the Tower while we head towards the lobby area. The invitation said to wait in the lobby until further notice.

"Look at this architecture. Must have taken him weeks to make this place,"

" **I think it's just that because he's a legendary, he can have non-legendaries build it for him."**

 _Still seems a bit bland, though. Maybe Rayquaza should've hired some interior decorators to furnish the place. A painting here, a statue there, and a bit of coloring other than white would have made this place look so much better._ **  
** _ **  
I just wonder why he would build it in the Mystery Dungeon Universe? His was just fine, I know because it's ours too! Then again, not a lot of Pokemon actually reside there and maybe he wanted to have only Pokemon?**_

That thought was soon answered when our heroes went into the lobby itself. The place was filled with expedition teams, some fighting each other, some chatting. Then, Rayquaza appeared, or at least a Double Team clone of Rayquaza.

"Greetings my guests! Before I explain the rules, does anyone have any questions?"  
 **"Why is it called A.N.K. Tower?"**

"A.N.K. stands for A Night in Karazhan!"

After that was said, our heroes quickly changed into their alternate outfits to match the mood.

"This tower is actually a Mystery Dungeon, but with rules! The rules are very simple: those who get to the top can party with me and all the other legendaries and mythicals. You are not allowed to fly or climb on the outside to get to the top of the tower, you have to go through the inside. If everyone on your team gets their HP lowered to 0 and have no methods of reviving, the staff will take you and your teammates to the hospital outside, healing you to full health and restoring all your power points. You then have to start from the beginning of the tower. If you have spare cash, you can go to the Kecleon Shop™ and buy some items from him. He has infinite of every consumable in stock, so you can buy as much as you want! I paid him to make sure he doesn't set up in the tower, so you have to stock up outside the tower. However, he will be on the roof, serving luxurious meals as well as selling is wares and buying yours. Once this speech is over, I will teleport you all to the second floor, where you will then have to find stairs up. If you want to try again after being defeated, there will be teleporters in the lobby taking you to the second floor. Each team will get their own parts of the tower to go up, but all teams will eventually be forced to interact with other teams. Roughhousing is allowed when parts of the tower merge and if you have psychic powers, so feel free to attack other teams as you please. With that said, I hope you enjoy your time in A.N.K. Tower!"

A beam of light appeared under everyone, and we were all transported away.

 _Blinded by the liiiiight, revved up like the deeeeeuce, another runner in the niiiiight, blinded by the liiiiight!  
_

 _ **Wait, if he was going to put teleport pads in here after we all started, why didn't he just put teleport pads in the room to begin with? Probably has something to do with giving everyone an equal start and single file lines wouldn't be really fair, but in that case make the whole floor teleport pads! Better yet, how will he even get the teleport pads in here in the first place?! Ah, whatever, less thinking more focusing on the task at hand.**_

A.N.K. Tower  
2F

I started to laying down anesthesia (instant KO gas) traps while DarkSide is laying down nuke traps (upgraded explosion traps). Of course, we teleported them randomly around the opposition's part of the Mystery Dungeon. We decided to discuss some…intriguing decisions Rayquaza made while we went through some hordes of Starmies and Tangrowths.  
"Why exactly did Rayquaza not put us at the towers top? He knows we can handle everything he throws at us, so why not just give us VIP access to the top? I mean, we count as legendaries too, right?"

 **"Maybe he is using this place as a test, to see how well he made it. It would explain why he even allowed wild Pokemon in here. What I think is strange is that the invitation didn't even tell us about the whole Mystery Dungeon part."**

 _Well, as long as no beauty curses are inflicted onto me, I'm fine._ ( journal/Escaping-To-My-Light-630370022 will explain the beauty curse.) _Oh, the readers don't know why I don't like the curse itself, well let me explain. One of my past adventures, that may or may not be written down later, got me infected with Yalini's curse. Normally it only affects female heirs to a throne, but Lunaala, controller of curses, adjusted it for DarkSide and myself to make it trigger when we use an attack. There is no way I would ever not attempt to first solve a problem with violence, so I was really miserable as my body started thinking I was a woman and made me a gentle flower. There is no reason in the world as to why I wouldn't hate it.  
_

 _ **If he is using it as a test, why invite us? Surely he would get much better data with the other guests. There is no point in him inviting us unless this is a prank against us or something. Hey, is that the stairs?**_

A.N.K. Tower  
3F

"Judging by the Radiance Orb, this floor has a huge amount of hallways, looping with each other. Wait, is that a golden apple?"

It was indeed a golden apple, a rare item that is known for being the best and rarest delicacy in the Mystery Dungeon universe. We never had these before in our lives, mostly because we never need to eat, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy eating food. However, after picking it up, almost every empty space (if not all of them) on this floor became occupied by Chanceys, each with their own Eviolite. It was at this moment that we knew this would be "one of those days".  
I used my blades to create a current in order to push myself and DarkSide into the air close to the ceiling. DarkSide proceeds to use Ammo Roulette, and lands on a magma bomb, causing a magma bomb to be fired into the center of the floor, coating the ground of the entire floor in liquid hot magma. Since we were so high up, they couldn't get hit by any of the Chancey's attacks (guess you could say they didn't stand a Chance-y), so we proceeded to go up the stairs with the sounds of Soft-boiled being used over and over as well as the tranquil sounds of the bubbling magma filling our eardrums.

 _Music to my ears! Not as good as some other music I hear, but it's good for the atmosphere.  
_

 _ **I would feel bad for them, but they kind of deserved it, luring us with luxury food. Maybe if they knew we were broke, they wouldn't have ambushed us. What's that, you readers didn't know we were broke either? Well long story short, just because we are the Guardians of all Dimensions doesn't mean we get payed. We are so broke, we live in a cardboard box. Sure, there may be an entire portable underground base bellow the box, but it's not the same as a secret base behind a bookshelf or in a tree.**_

A.N.K. Tower  
4F

Upon entering the room, it seemed to only be one giant room, no hallways, no Pokemon, and the stairs to the next floor were on the other side of the room. It seemed easy at first, but after taking just one step, a wall trap activated, turning the room into the world's most complicated maze.

 **"Remember to keep going left, Xeno."  
**

"I know how these work, DarkSide."

Finally, the heroes got to the stairs, but before they went up them, one of Rayquaza's Double Team clones appeared in front of them.

"Oh, it's you two. I didn't realize you were actually here."

 **"But I'm the one who asked what A.N.K. stood for!"  
**

"Oh, you were, weren't you? My bad, there were so many Pokemon in the crowd I couldn't distinguish one from another."

"We are the only ones wearing clothes!"

"Ah, so you are, no matter. Anyway, it seems you two are slacking behind, everyone else is already at floor 9. So just for you guys, I will warp you to floor 10. You won't miss out on must, just some more fighting and looking for stairs…I think. I was just created today so I wouldn't know if there were any special touches on floors 5-9. Anyway, just touch this warp twister and you will be sent far away in a flash. After that, you just have to scale the other 89 floors until you get to the roof. Good luck guys, you will need it."  
The clone proceeded to swirl around, creating a twister. Myself and DarkSide jumped in, and were teleported due to spinning so fast.

 _So will this just make a hole into floor ten or- whoooooaaaah?!  
_

 _ **Why tornado? Sure there is a better- waaaaaaaaay!**_

A.N.K. Tower  
10F

"Well that was something. But if Rayquaza's clones could do that, why didn't he just have them teleport us to the roof?"

 **"Beats me, but look who's in front of us. It's the 'Mons in Black."**

Indeed, it was the 'Mons in Black.  
(Zekrom and Darkrai copying the Men in Black, same clothes, same tools, and a theme song with the same tune but with different lyrics [still in development], they still use their powers, coming to a theater near you.)

"What are you guys doing here?"

"'Quaza told us to be the first of the ten trials. It's a shame he labeled us as the easiest, but at least we were allowed to customize the floor before this one. How was it, by the way? Rayquaza would love to hear about it." Zekrom said, but we had to break the bad news. _  
_

 **"Actually, we never did floor 9. Rayquaza realized we were here, and since we were behind everyone else he let us skip here."  
**

"Really dude? REALLY?! We put so much effort into our ingenious design. It was a stealth segment with Zekrom's minions and my nightmares and you ignored all of it! Now then, any questions before you begin your first trial?" Darkrai said, displeased **  
**

"I do, are you everyone's first trial or is it just us?"

"We are everyone's. If you must know, Darkrai and I put barriers around the stairs until we are defeated in the room the stairs are in. That way they have to fight us. But enough talk, have at you!" _  
_

As the battle starts, I use Elemental Roulette. My swords glow to show me I got Fighting and Ice, and I proceed to combo Zekrom into oblivion. DarkSide proceeds to go into the Shadow World, and beat up Darkrai's shadow, causing him to take damage as well. I notice DarkSide is having a bit of trouble, so I throw the Fighting element blade in a tornado-like way, causing a flurry of fists to attack Darkrai while I concentrate on Zekrom. Eventually, they both fall down, and we do an all-out attack, finishing them off.

"What a fight, I can clearly see why you were the next Guardians of all Dimensions." _  
_

"We shall release the barrier, go on through the stairs and face the 89 other challenges, then you can make it to the roof and party like you just saved everything!"

The barrier around the stairs disappear, and DarkSide and I go on through.

 _Those guys must have been training, they usually take less time to defeat. Maybe they really can start a business with a bunch of 'Mons in Black at their side.  
_

 _ **One has to wonder why they came in costume. It's not like they used their special tools, they just did what they normally do. Maybe they heard it was a party and mistook it for a costume party? Then again, it's not like we have any room to complain about costumes when we are dressed as priests.**_

END OF CHAPTER!  
Xeno and DarkSide have overcome the vicious 'Mons in Black without letting them even get a hit off! However, our heroes are only a tenth of the way there. What other trials has Rayquaza set up for our crew and the rest of the guests? How will the other 89 floors progress? And isn't it strange that there are ten trials, yet the story constantly tells about the _89_ floors?  
TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO FIND OUT!


	2. Part 2: All Fun And Games Until

Screw introductions, on with the story!  
(This part will be told from DarkSide's PoV)

A.N.K. Tower  
11F

As we enter the next floor, we see something peculiar. It's another stair case, only this one lead to floor 10. Is this one of the other team's staircase? Suddenly, without warning, we hear footsteps. We get into battle position and…  
"Hm? Do I know you?" The…thing said.  
"Who are you, and what is your business here?" I say, making sure to not lower my guard.  
"I am SoulVaati, Guardian of Spirits!"  
(SoulVaati: Silvally, Adopted by Arceus, Guardian of Spirits, Still in Training,  
{Appearance: Yellow eyes, Black upper body, Black wings on head, one of Arceus' rings, White lower body, blue diamond hook for a leg,}  
{Weapon: Arceus' Spirit Ring [Can Summon Lost Spirits, Can remove spirits, can return spirits to bodies, can alter spirits, controls the life stream, spirit control]}  
{Items: Fractured Memory [Arceus' attempt at rewriting SoulVaati's past, can make SoulVaati any dual type combination, SoulVaati can't control what type is chosen], Foresight Monocle [Platinum, Increases accuracy and evasion by 75%-100%, nullifies opponents type immunity, created by Arceus from SoulVaati's Old Helmet Fragments], Power Attachment/Guard Attachment/Fitness Attachment [Power triples Atk and Sp. Atk, Guard triples Def and Sp. Def, Fitness triples Max HP and Speed]}  
{Misc: Trained personally by Arceus [Arceus is quite rough when it comes to training], Can't lose his spirit, Shy, Brave, Curious})  
{Past: He was created for one reason: to die. He was a training dummy for scientists to see how things that are deadly to humans affected Pokémon. Name a way to die, he has probably experienced it. His spirit was modified so that it could never leave him, meaning he could stay for more tests forever. After surviving the nuke test, which the scientists did not, his helmet broke. He didn't want to be caught, in fear of being forced into testing again, so he jumped off a cliff. Arceus pulled him up before he touched the ground as a joke. Feeling pity, he decided to raise SoulVaati [It was what Arceus named him, he didn't have a name as a test subject] into doing one of his guardian jobs, being in charge of all spirits.}  
"Well, Guardian of Spirits in training, but still." SoulVaati says, not even blushing.  
"We knew, we read the bio." Xeno said. I reminded him to try and not break the fourth wall next time.  
"So why are you at A.N.K. Tower? I wouldn't think Arceus would let you take a break from training." I ask SoulVaati.  
"Well, dad knew about this place being a Mystery Dungeon, and wanted me to train here in order to have hands-on training, as he calls it. He said if someone is forcing spirits to do bad, it's easier to take out whoever is controlling them. Problem is, I didn't get much training against non-spirits, so I'm having it rough." SoulVaati seems to be quivering.  
"In here by yourself? I'm surprised you haven't gotten massacred! Come on, let's work as a team of 3. Most other groups are, so it would be best if we did too." Xeno holds out his hand afterwards, as a sign of agreement. SoulVaati shakes his hand, and we got a new party member.  
"By the way, can I try removing your spirits? Just to prove it?" He doesn't even let us answer. His ring starts glowing as he attempts to remove our spirits, but he can't. Our spirits are too strong, they can only be removed if we remove them ourselves. He gives up, but it doesn't matter now. We go to the next floor.  
"Was there a reason no other Pokémon were on the floor? Maybe it was intended for us to fight the other Pokémon. Either way, we made an ally." I ponder to myself.  
"It's nice the first foe we face became our teammate without having to fight them. I bet Arceus would be mad if we destroyed his son." Xeno is thinking like usual.

A.N.K. Tower  
12F

As we keep going through this floor, things get stranger. Our foes start looking like chess pieces. Is something special coming soon? It's even weirder that this is the first floor with a checkerboard pattern on the floor. This wasn't here before. We got so lost, we had to use a Guidance Wand to find the stairs. But when we did…  
"Strange, the chess piece-like Pokémon aren't moving anymore. What's with their formations?" After pointing it out to Xeno and SoulVaati, they noticed it too.  
"Does Rayquaza really bother going to this specific floor for chess or something? If so, why not put it on the roof?" As Xeno said that, the pieces start to move! But something is odd, a bunch of them are only moving in certain patterns, unlike the ones we fought before.  
"Maybe we should play chess with them? They seem like the kind of Pokémon to be into that." SoulVaati decides to challenge the biggest one, their King. A strange chess board appears in front of them, as they plot their moves carefully. Eventually, SoulVaati seems to be on the losing sides, but he starts to realize something!  
"You don't even HAVE a king! You just have 2 queens! Wait, are you even a king?!" The "king" takes off a mask, revealing to be a queen! Either way, it was cheating, so we kicked it to the ground and proceeded up the stairs.  
"Did I just duel a transgender in chess? Either way, I think I'm scarred for life now." SoulVaati has a weird expression on his face during this thought.  
"Sometimes, it's better to stop questioning what we see, and just get on with it." Xeno has a stern look on his face.  
"Wonder what can top that weirdness. Or, even better, why that was there." I start pondering.

A.N.K. Tower  
13F

Nothing special is happening, so Xeno and myself start to question SoulVaati some more.  
"So, since you're Arceus' son, why weren't YOU at the tower top to start with?" Xeno starts with quite the question, but he answers.  
"I told you guys, dad wanted me to train here."  
"So why didn't he have you be a trial? It means you could fight everyone else going through." I retaliate with my question.  
"Dad thought about it, but I'm still just a child, literally and when it comes to using my powers. He would think that the teams would go easy on me, and they would try to avoid fighting me. Just please, ask me anything else now."  
"Have you ever done things other than fighting and your job?" I ask the guardian.  
"Well, I tried to get into song writing. I even made a duet with this Bill guy. You know him?" We realize who he is talking about.  
"You mean Bill Cipher? Well, we don't just know him, we are related to him."  
(Bill Cipher: Multidimensional Anomaly, the 5th Guardian of all Dimensions,  
Past: He was given the title of Guardian of all Dimensions after the last guy died 1 minute after becoming Guardian of all Dimensions, due to being mentally unable to handle alternate dimensions. At first carefree and a good person, but he freaked out when he realized something. He didn't know at first, but for the next Guardian of all Dimensions to get his power, the previous one has to die, transferring their power to the next in line. He betrayed the Guardians, promising to never show them mercy, for he despises them all! What he didn't know, though, was that when he made his first contract of power, they became the next Guardian of all Dimensions, but Bill destroyed him on the spot after finding out, though that only made the 7th Guardian of all Dimensions emerge. But, because #6 came from one of his deals, all Guardians of all Dimensions to come after him had his unique powers. He has a soft spot for SoulVaati, however, since he is the only one to realize Bill's singing talent, he even wrote a variation of "Stronger Than You" just for Bill. Because of SoulVaati's kindness, Cipher started training him in his own methods when SoulVaati isn't training with his father.)  
The conversation quickly ended when we got to the next floor.

A.N.K. Tower  
13F

"Halt! You must fight me in song!" A mysterious voice pulls us up to a microphone.  
"Not even an introduction? What a jerk!" Xeno and myself both say at the same time. The figure proceeds to kick us off stage, leaving SoulVaati.  
"You will challenge me to a song duel, young boy." SoulVaati looks angry.  
"Can I call for help?" Without letting the figure answer, SoulVaati brings Bill Cipher to the stand. They break out into song

*8-bit version of "Stronger Than You" plays*

Bill: This is so stupid, but you should know.  
Bill: This whole floor is just an excuse because this plot is slow…  
SoulVaati: LEAST WE CAN DO IS PUT ON A SHOW!  
SoulVaati: Atleast it won't get our HP low.

SoulVaati: We can improvise, we got nothing else.  
Bill: Couldn't we just make a singing robot instead,  
Bill: That sings with whistles and bells.  
SoulVaati: No, we have to punish this jerk head on…

Both: Let's go, YOU'LL LOSE, it won't be fun!

Bill: Go ahead and try to outsing us if you're able,  
SoulVaati: We don't know what you are, but you seem unstable.  
Bill: You would dare defy the power of our beings,  
SoulVaati: When we shall bring you onto your knees!?

Bill: Everything you know has flipped god knows how!  
SoulVaati: We are in control, here comes a blast, guys get down!  
SoulVaati: There is nothing you can do to stop us, right?  
Bill: BECAUSE NOW IT'S TIME FOR WEIRDMAGEDDON!

Both: You think you can fight, with your LO-O-O-O-NG  
Both: SO-O-O-O-OOONG, YOUR SO-O-O-O-OOONG!  
Both: You won't win with your,  
Both: SO-O-O-O-OOONG, SO-O-O-O-OOONG, SO-O-O-O-OOONG!

Bill: We know who you are,  
SoulVaati: We'll put you in your place.  
SoulVaati: The next time that you try that,  
Both: You will fall down for eternity!

SoulVaati: Where did all your good lyrics go?  
Bill: We rewrote them tomorrow!  
Bill: Even you can't remember them!  
SoulVaati: Because they were made by the guy in the third row!

Both: Go ahead and try to outsing us if you're able,  
Both: Without a script you cannot battle!  
Both: Are your lyrics good enough to defeat us?  
Both: ALL ALONG WE BOTH KNEW YOU'RE A FRAUD!

Both: The cops are on their way, here they are!  
Both: Funny that you think you get away with it.  
Both: WE'RE BILL CIPHER AND SOULVAATI! CAN WE GET A LATTE!?  
Both: We haven't had energy for ages.

Both: You think you can fight, with your LO-O-O-O-NG  
Both: SO-O-O-O-OOONG, SO-O-O-O-OOONG!  
Both: WE HAVE FINISHED YOU OFF!  
Both: It is not your,  
Both: SO-O-O-O-OOONG, SO-O-O-O-OOONG, SO-O-O-O-OOONG!  
Both: WE HAVE FINISHED YOU OFF!

The mysterious foe disappears in an upside-down time police car, before everything goes back to normal. We proceed up the stairs, with Bill waving goodbye before disappearing.

"I'm not sorry about that. I'm really not." Xeno has a strange grin on his face.  
"Strange that Cipher can sing as well as he does, makes you wonder if he was a singer before he became a Guardian, or an ex-Guardian now." I stop thinking before I go in too deep.  
"Why didn't they want an encore!? It was amazing!" SoulVaati is humming the tune to himself.

(The next few floors will be spent on backstory. It's dark.)

A.N.K. Tower  
14F

"So, you two, how did you get your powers? I'm very curious." SoulVaati is asking how we got our powers. Xeno decides to tell the story.  
"So did you know that myself and DarkSide shouldn't have existed? We didn't know for a while, but we weren't supposed to exist. Turns out we were anomalies, brought into the world, yet not supposed to be there. Anyway, my father was the chief of Lucar Village, a place with only Lucarios, knowing only brute strength. He found me out in the woods, but I never got a name. I only started calling myself Xeno after I became Guardian of all Dimensions. When I was of age, he told me what happened to my mother and brothers. Apparently, they were valiant warriors who died fighting for their people. This was a lie, my dad actually killed them and buried them in our backyard. Other than that, my social life sucked. At school, we only learned to fight, but I always got the low grades because I never wanted to fight. No one ever talked to me or even realized when I was nearby, even my dad sometimes didn't remember when I was somewhere, so I spent almost all my free time in isolation. The only reason I never went insane was because I always talked to my shadow. One day, I finally stood up to the big bullies of the school, who were the strongest, and beat them all in a fight. Everyone finally recognized me, and my father promised he was going to make me the new chief. However, I soon realized what was happening. My father has been in contact with the Xat Tribe, which is a bunch of Xatus, and made a plan to kill me and kidnap the entire village. I couldn't believe it, I thought he was so proud of me and now he wants me dead. On the day I was going to become chief, I heard a noise in the nearby woods. I went to investigate, mostly because I wanted a way to get out of the ceremony. In there, I found the 9th Guardian of all Dimensions, who was trapped. After freeing him, he said his old bones couldn't handle his job, and he wanted to give me the power. He didn't even remember why he was here, but I found out he was going to erase me from existence. The cost of becoming the Guardian of all Dimensions was losing the ability to love, but I didn't care, love betrayed me so I don't need it. Anyway, I was given a massive boost in strength, speed, intelligence, everything! I got the clothes and swords I use to this day and control over all elements. Well, except for two, tell him DarkSide." It seems it was my turn to continue this story.  
"Very well, before we start, let me explain how shadows works. As a shadow, I had no conscience, no free will, no emotion, nothing that makes me my own person. Shadows have to exactly follow their owner, no matter what. So when I was able to steal the powers of Light and Darkness, I gained all that a shadow lacked, free will, a conscience, emotions. With the infinite power I gained from becoming Guardian of all Dimensions, I was able to break what was keeping me inside the Shadow World, making me free! I was so excited, but then I had a horrible thought. I thought Xeno was going to return me to the Shadow World, so I ran. He chased me, so I kept running and running. Eventually, we spent a month running and we ran around the planet a couple thousand times. It was time for me to stop running away, so I attacked him, knocking him down. Just as I was about to finish him off, a voice rang in my head. It was my new conscience, and it was warning me that if Xeno died, I would die too and vice versa. So I helped him up, agreed to help him, and we became the best friends, since we easily understood each other."

A.N.K. Tower  
15F

"Ok, thanks for telling me. But how did you guys meet my dad?" SoulVaati is asking another question, so we decide to do a flashback.

(Flashback PoV: Xeno)

DarkSide and myself are taking a walk around heaven, since it was our first time visiting. In the distance, I notice something strange.  
"Giratina, stand down and go back to the Distortion Realm now, or face consequences." Arceus seemed mad by his tone.  
"Arceus, Arceus, Arceus. That place is a dump. I'm taking over here, becoming god, and you will all do what I say! I have grown to strengths far beyond yours." Giratina seems to be charging up. Arceus is charging something, too. We have to stop them, the blast could be fatal for both of them.  
"Stop! There is no reason for you to fight." I say, running in front of Arceus.  
"There is no point in reckless battling. Cease your attacks against your foe." DarkSide stands in front of Giratina.  
"Do you know who I am!? You can't tell me what to do! Get out of my way!" Arceus and Giratina say it in unison, before starting to fight us. All we do is slash at them once with our blades, and they immediately fall.  
"How…how are you stronger than me?" Arceus is on the floor.  
"What-what power! Where did it come from?" Giratina is in pain.  
"Now listen to us, we don't want you to fight. You have no reasons to be enemies when everything could be much better if you worked together." I make a contract appear from thin air.

"Sign this contract and you can be almost as powerful as us, meaning you have no reason to fight over power anymore." The two signed the contract, and shook hands with each other.  
"You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to make the Distortion Realm a rehab center!" Giratina rushes to the Distortion Realm, and we all have a good laugh.

A.N.K. Tower  
16F

"Can I have a list of what you two like and don't like? I'm curious." SoulVaati handed us a piece of paper to write on.

Xeno:  
Like: Fighting, Winning, DarkSide, Travelling, Allies  
Dislike: Most Females (ALL MY HATE), Being Outdone By Someone, Isolation, Doing Nothing

Darkside:  
Like: Fighting, Technology, Xeno, Adventures, Allies, Shadow Ice Cream  
Dislike: Most Females (ALL MY HATE), Isolation, Being Unable To Do Anything

A.N.K. Tower  
17F

"Why does it say All My Hate with Most Women?" Xeno quickly answers him.  
"If you must know, DarkSide and I have a…problem with women. Mostly because of the girls who want to marry us. One of them is a Gardevoir, she seems nice at first until you realize she tried to brainwash humanity and wants to marry me so she can use me to take over everything. She even went through a genetic DNA change just so she could be in the same egg group as me. And there is one specific thing that I won't mention. Then there is this Lopunny queen, and she wants me to be her king. 1, I don't like being royalty because it means I have other people do my job for me, and I hate that, 2, under her castle is a giant room with brainwashed Lucarios running on hamster wheels, which powers her kingdom, and 3, she wants to use me to take over everything. Then there is this Espeon, and 50% of the time she is trying to force me into a marriage, and the other 50% of the time she is trying to turn me into a Glaceon." I start to list off my problems.  
"For me, there is this female Lucario who is an associate with the Gardevoir, so you can see the problem already. Then there is this Braixen, who seems nice at first until you realize she is a dictator who wants to use me to rule everything with an iron fist. And lastly, the Espeon's sister, Umbreon, who 50% of the time wants to force a marriage on me and 50% of the time wants to turn me into a Sylveon."

A.N.K. Tower  
18F

"But that's not the main reason all my hate is in females. Here, have a flashback." Xeno started up a flashback.

(Flashback PoV: Xeno)

It was a beautiful day in Lumiose City, DarkSide and myself were taking a walk around the town. Suddenly, we bumped into her, the Gardevoir, and she takes my portal gun (Before DarkSide and Myself realized we could just create dimension portals, we made them with a portal gun)! She proceeded to run, and started disassembling the gun. As she was reaching to touch the power core, we screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" but it was too late. As soon as she tinkered with the core, a dimensional vortex appeared, sucking everyone from every dimension into Lumiose. Everyone seemed so confused, but it took little time for everyone to start going to war. Dimensions started going against each other, friends and families killed alternate versions of themselves, it was a bloodbath. We were teleported to a white void, where Arceus, as well as many other gods, were sitting in a board room meeting.  
"These are my friends." Arceus says as the gods greet us. "If you want to stop this madness, we have to reset all the dimensions. I already made a list of changes. 1, I found that Palkia was supposed to guard all the worlds, he sucked so bad at that he is going back to working on space again. 2, we will be making a whole new dimension between all dimensions that travelers have to go through in order to get to their destination. We will call it CrossRoads. And 3, I shall make the Pokémon planet split in two, one side will be ruled by humans and the other will be ruled by Pokémon. Any objections?" No one objected, so Arceus, the gods, and ourselves reset all the dimensions.  
"It was all that Gardevoir's fault. If she wasn't so selfish, none of this would have happened. Also, no one tried to stop her! That's why we hate most females with all our hate." Xeno finished explaining, as we head up.

A.N.K. Tower  
19F

As we walk in, the floor seems to be one room, one giant room. As we take our steps, we look around us. A bunch of other Pokémon are on bleachers, as if in a circle around the room. Suddenly, a light shines in the middle back, and we see our second trial. Who's that Pokémon? We don't know, the light only lets us see its silhouette. The strange figure raises its arm, and a gate opens, showing an army of Scythers, each with their own Eviolite.  
"Wait a sec, didn't we do this a couple floors ago, but with Chanseys?" Xeno raises a question, but the figure has already gone up to the next floor. We are left to fight the Scyther army. SoulVaati makes a soul wave, knocking out half the army, while we also knocked out the other half with a single slash. We proceed onto the next floor, ready for our second trial.

A.N.K. Tower  
20F

As we go up the staircase, we see our foe, in full light. It's what appears to be a shameless Trojan horse knockoff made to look like Arceus. We quickly burn it, but inside was one of every non-legendary Mega Evolved Pokémon. They proceeded to dog pile onto us, but we found their weakest link and attacked, crumbling the whole pile. We decided to make some cuts in them, and when we did they started losing consciousness. After some video watching, we check back on the Pokémon, only to see they all fainted. We go up the staircase.

END OF CHAPTER!  
Xeno, Darkside and SoulVaati, their new ally, the Guardian of Spirits, and Arceus' son, have gotten through floors 11-20. SoulVaati learned about our hero's past, and had a sweet duet (which I'm still not sorry about) with his other mentor, Bill Cipher. They have defeated the mega army, and have started the next floors. Who awaits our heroes as they traverse the rest of A.N.K. Tower? Tune in next time to find out!


	3. Part 3: A Tale Of Unspeakable Horror

Well, here we go again.  
(This part takes place in Xeno's PoV)

A.N.K. Tower  
21F

As we get to the next floor, I notice something odd. SoulVaati is nowhere to be seen! We look back, but all we see is a note that says, "Gone Home". He must've went back to heaven.

After clearing that out of the way, we move through the floor, just myself and DarkSide. However, something is off about the foes we fight on our way through the floor. All of them ignore us, seemingly disappearing in thin air. It concerns us a bit, but we go to the next floor.  
"They remind me so much of apparitions. You see them, and suddenly they disappear without warning, never to be seen again." I ponder what happened to them.  
"Those guys remind me of myself. Warping in and out of reality, as if they are shadows in a dark room." DarkSide is comparing and contrasting the Pokemon to us.

A.N.K. Tower  
22F

A light blinds us as we enter. DarkSide uses his Darkness to cover the light, and what we see astounds us. All the Pokemon that disappeared, and some that didn't, are sitting in velvet chairs above us, and it seems we are on some sort of circular stage, complete with red curtain surrounding the whole thing. An Empoleon approaches us, but he seems very…see-through. He holds a mic up to his mouth, does a quick throat clear, and begins.

"Welcome to the play of a lifetime!" The crowd starts to cheer. We have confused looks on our faces, but the Empoleon keeps talking. "Our special guests here will be performing in our 9 acts. This will surely be a time to remember!" The curtains close in on us. We are trapped inside, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, the curtains raise, and the stage we were on has changed. Instead of just being empty, there are three houses. One is made of hay, one is made of wood, and one is made of bricks. It seems oddly familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. Out of the houses comes three Grumpigs, and they don't look happy.

"What are they so mad about?" I ask the Empoleon, only to see him not on the stage anymore. Out of nowhere, DarkSide and myself get slammed into a wall! But thanks to that sudden head trauma, I remembered what this is! Three Little Pigs, only they don't look so little and innocent.

"Maybe we should try to beat them the same way they were originally defeated." DarkSide gave me a good idea. I activate Wind on both my blades, then I spin, spin to win, and DarkSide launches a mini nuke and blows them up! Cheers and jeers from the audience, then suddenly, the floor is moving upwards!

"This feels weird, what is going on and when do we get to the end?" I have so many questions.  
"Wow, this feels like an elevator. Maybe this room is an elevator and when we get to the end, we will reach the next block." DarkSide seems interested in the room's mechanics.

A.N.K. Tower  
23F

The stage is in complete darkness once again. DarkSide uses his powers to make some light, but all we see is more darkness. Is it possible the curtains can disable all light? The curtains raise again, only for us to be in another unfamiliar scenario. A Blissey, Weavile, Greninja, Snorlax, Barbaracle, Beartic, and a Hypno. The Blissey seems to have a medical kit, the Weavile is looking at us funny, the Greninja seems happy to be here, the Snorlax seems to be trying its best to stay awake, the Barbaracle keeps tucking its head down, the Beartic has a cold, and the Hypno seems to be messing with his pendulum. In the middle of them, a Serperior wearing a yellow dress, red ribbon on her head, and a blue shirt on her upper body. I'm going to assume it's a her since she's wearing a dress in the first place.

"It seems we have entered the Freakshow. I'm expecting big things from this." DarkSide wittingly commented. Suddenly, the Serperior holds out an apple to DarkSide.  
"Please, take this and try it. I don't want someone to starve." She says in a sweet voice. DarkSide picks it up, looks at it from different angles, and scans it with the Omni-Scanner.

(Omni-Scanner: A tool DarkSide created. It can scan anything for any available data on it. If it is a machine, he can create blueprints of it using this.)

"Lady, this apple is poisoned. Did you know this?" DarkSide responds. The Serperior seems in shock, but the look on her face tells me she knew this. Suddenly, she uses Blizzard, and we get covered in snow! How does she even know Blizzard!? Now that my head is covered in heaps of snow, I think I remember what this is based off of. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I think?  
"Hey DarkSide, how was Snow White and her Dwarfs defeated?" I ask him.  
"I believe it was poison, but they used poison. I have a better idea." DarkSide proceeded to give me and everyone in the audience a gas mask. He launched something from his gunblade, and out came a nuclear waste bomb, covering our 8 foes in nuclear waste. They melted, and the room started going up again.

A.N.K. Tower  
24F

The curtains raised, and the floor felt sandy. A Gallade, dressed in rags, is holding a strange artifact in his hands. He seems to really want to keep it. It must be worth something if he won't let it go. But something seems…off.

"What's with his eyes? They are red and glowing and dark. Allow me to relieve you of your curse, or whatever it is." DarkSide approached the Gallade and used his light powers to break the curse on him. He was in such shock, he dropped the artifact! After shattering, what appeared to be Hoopa Unbound came out! What fools we were.

Looking at the attire of the Gallade now, this reminds me of Aladdin a lot. Either way, I remember the tale of Hoopa, so I know how to beat him. Using the same elements that sealed Hoopa away, Water, Fire, Earth, I created an even stronger magic lamp and trapped Hoopa Unbound before it could cause any harm. Quite that applause from the audience was heard before the floor started to go up.

A.N.K. Tower  
25F

"I'm getting sick of this process. Can't this thing go any faster?" I'm starting to get annoyed. I was never one for patience. So, the curtain raised, but it was still dark. Voices could be heard. DarkSide creates a light ball, and we see what appears to be a bed in front of us. What is this supposed to be?

As we approach the bed, the voices become clearer, yet more distorted. Probably because they are grunting. As we look over the bed, we see a Volbeat sleeping with a Lopunny. An arrow quiver is next to the bed, but the arrow heads are in the shape of a heart. I check under the blanket, and the Volbeat is wearing nothing but a diaper. After some quick thinking, I realize this is representing Cupid and Psyche. I think about how they were defeated, but I think of something that fits. And by fits, I mean I made a giant arrow out of Fairy and Steel and skewered them both with it.

"Moral of the story, arrows are dangerous." I say as a witty one-liner. A *ba dum ts* is heard off in the distance. The floor starts to move up once more.

A.N.K. Tower  
26F

It goes by faster this time, probably because there wasn't much to set up. In front of us is a small Pancham. It is wearing a top hat, a bowtie, a monocle, a tuxedo, and some fancy shoes. In his hand is a simple cane. Are we going to get a tap dance?

"I'm sick of this, just let us continue!" DarkSide takes his anger out on the small Pancham, kicking him in the face. Suddenly, the Pancham starts mutating into…Pangoro? Only this Pangoro is green. Is this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Either way you look at it, he seems invincible. Which is why we put him to sleep and hit him into space. He doesn't seem to be coming back. These things are getting easier and easier as we go up. Speaking of going up…

A.N.K. Tower  
27F

When the room stops moving, we notice we aren't standing on anything. In fact, we are in the air. This doesn't look good. Luckily, there was a convenient house that we were conveniently right above. We go down from the house, only to see five other Pokemon. A Gardevoir with ruby red slippers on, A Bisharp in gray armor, a Honchkrow with a scarecrow outfit on with straw sticking out of it, a male Pyroar hiding behind the Bisharp, and a Lillipup in the Gardevoir's basket.

"Hey DarkSide, do you think we are still in A.N.K. Tower anymore?" I ask him.  
"Yeah, most likely. The audience is still over there." He points to the audience.  
"So what are you five doing, exactly?" I ask the others. The Gardevoir answers my question.

"Well, we are going to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz. He is going to bring me and Toto home, Tinman is getting a heart, Scarecrow is getting some brains, and Lion is getting some courage." This was a bit too easy to see where it was going. I created a Fire Tornado with my swords, roasting the five Pokemon until they fainted. We were moved onto the next floor

A.N.K. Tower  
28F

We seem to have landed in a romantic scene this time. A poor-looking Gothorita is looking up at a rich-looking Cacturne. It didn't even take me until they started talking for me to realize this was Romeo and Juliet. But they did start to talk.

"My dear Romeo-" DarkSide slit her throat before she could say the rest of the sentence. "Romeo" jumped down with a golden sword in hand, ready to duel DarkSide. The two clashed blades, or it would have been a clash if "Romeo's" sword didn't get sent flying by DarkSide tapping it with his gunblade. He proceeded to hit "Romeo" with the blunt edge of his blade, sending him around the planet and back into the room, face first.

"Curses, I was hoping to break the record of 100 circles around the planet!" DarkSide looks disappointed in himself. You know what happened next.

A.N.K. Tower  
29F

In front of us, a house. Inside said house, a sick, old looking Pokemon covering its face with a blanket. We approach it cautiously, making sure not to make too much noise. Beside the wall is a coatrack with a red hood on it, and a bicycle near that. Was this Little Red Riding Hood?

Since this seemed like Little Red Riding Hood, I took no time to realize what the old Pokemon actually was. So I decided to play along.

"Hello dear, did you bring grandma some delicious cookies this time?" "She" asked in a crackly voice.  
"Actually, 'grandma', I got something better than your favorite cookies." I responded.  
"Oh, and what would that be dear?" I proceeded to shove one of my swords down "her" throat, killing the Lycanroc in disguise.  
"A cure for you Lycanthropy, of course!" I say as a witty comment. It happens once more.

A.N.K. Tower  
30F

We get something we didn't expect, an empty stage. No props, no pretenders, nothing. In front of us, though, was the same Empoleon from the start. But now he is wearing a tuxedo, a red bowtie, and is holding a staff.  
"Congratulations on completing the plays! How would you like to join us as actors?" He gestures his flipper out to us, the audience leans in.

"Actually we are here for the party on the roof. So, if you will excuse us, we will be on our ways." I tell him. As we try to look for some stairs, we are blocked by him.  
"Well, you don't really have a choice in the matter." We are confused by what he says, but then he holds up his staff. Multiple colors come at us, too fast to distinguish which one is which. We have seen this before, he was trying to hypnotize us! Luckily, after all we have been through, we always had plans for hypnotism. They only hurt our eyes. We kick him in the jugular area, and as he is curled up in a ball, the stairs appear. Was he our trial? Either way, we go on.

END OF CHAPTER!  
Xeno and DarkSide have gone through the Empoleon's plays and avoided his cunning trap with their skills. How will our heroes go through these next 69 (heheh) floors? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!


	4. Part 4: Flashback or Flashforward?

(Notice the trend? DarkSide's PoV this time)

A.N.K. Tower  
41F

Strangely enough, there was an elevator when we entered the floor. We tried looking around, but the whole floor was just a hallway leading to the elevator. This can't end well. As we enter the elevator, there are only two buttons, one labeled 41F while another is labeled 50F. Curiously, we press the button with 50F on it, and the elevator starts to rise. An elevator jazz version of 'Megalovania' is playing while we go through.

"Maybe Rayquaza got bored and didn't bother making floors 42 through 49," Xeno suggests. Maybe he is right, maybe Rayquaza ran out of funds. Or maybe the writer got lazy, the world may never know.

A.N.K. Tower  
50F

As we exit the elevator, we are appalled by what we see. A dead body right in front of the elevator! It's cut in half, and seems fairly fresh. No markings are there, and the face is indescribable. Suddenly, some guy in what seems to be a detective suit comes in out of literally nowhere. He tells us that the murderer is somewhere on this section of the tower, and tells us to investigate. Only problem is the elevator has two buttons, but he denies that fact. So when we check the elevator again, suddenly it has buttons for all the other floors. Guess I should give the writer some credit, seems he isn't as lazy as I thought he was. We go to the next few floors. They proceed to be standard. So instead of boring you with these stories about each unimportant floor, how about I tell you an interesting story from the past? Too bad, you don't get a choice!

DarkSide's Tale: A Detective Film?

It was a dark and gloomy night, like many others. Everything was in grayscale, even my color/colour chart. Suddenly, the door swings open, and she walks in. I proceed to slam the door on her multiple times. I don't even know who it is, I just know they are female. No sane male would wear a dress covered in so much glitter. And I can tell the Pokemon is sane, their hair isn't in a mess. At least, it wasn't until I started slamming the door on them. Slamming this door got tiring, so I decided to stop and take a seat, drinking out of my cup. I absolutely enjoy the taste of hot cocoa. But far from as much as I enjoy Shadow Ice Cream. Surprisingly, she is still alive, no wounds, and she fixes her hair in a matter of seconds. She walks up to my desk, and lays her leg on the table. Hairless, not a single hair on it. I flip my desk on her and slam it on her multiple times. Can you tell I'm violent? Surprisingly, nothing falls over. I quickly fix my desk, and still she is not wounded? This is like purgatory to me, unable to cause pain.

"What do you want?" I ask the Pokemon. "I'm a busy Lucario, busy schedule, busy life, busy projects. Just tell me why you are here so you can leave my office. Also, could you explain why I have an office, why I'm in this detective agency, and why everything is grayscale?" I literally have no clue why I'm here. I wrack my brain for answers, and I think I know what happened. Xeno bet me money saying I couldn't have a detective agency with one successful case solved. Still doesn't explain why everything is grayscale. I realized I probably got some bad reputation by slamming my first client into doors and desks, but she doesn't seem to mind. Is she hitting on me? I'm not sure, she doesn't seem to be putting her leg down and it's really bothering me. In fact, the more I look at the leg, the more detail I get from it. I can best describe it as a white noodle. There is only one feminine Pokemon I know of that has white noodles for legs: Gardevoirs. Gardevoirs are always trouble, for Xeno and myself. So the fact that one came for my help is quite interesting. Finally, she starts talking.

"Listen, I don't have a lot of time so I need to make this quick. I'm being hunted by someone. I need you to bring them to justice for me. I have a special favor for you if you do," she winks at me, as if she was hitting on me. "Please, I don't want any reward cash or "favors", I'm already getting a great reward from elsewhere by doing this," I told her. She seems saddened, but I don't care.

I begin asking some questions about this "hunter" such as, "When did this start happening?" and "Do you have any clue who it could be?" Eventually I get enough knowledge I need, but one thing is bugging me. "Why did you come to me for help? There are many other capable detectives besides myself, why didn't you choose one of them?" I am surprised when she answers my question with "well, I don't judge my detectives on how good they are, I judge them on how pretty they are."

Many thoughts were running through my head, "She had a reason?!" "Prettiness? Feh, what an idiot!" "Should I let her get hunted?" "Hey DarkSide, did you get a client yet?" …huh? What was that last one? "Dude, did you forget we had telepathy with each other? I can hear your thoughts, you know." Oh, it was Xeno speaking into my head. Our link as being the same entity lets us hear each other's thoughts and speak into each other's heads. "Why yes, I do indeed have a client. Apparently I need to hunt a hunter," I tell Xeno. "Ah, so you're turning some tables. Just remember that if you don't catch them in a day, you lose the bet." Of course I remembered. It's the only reason I'm working in this god forsaken office! But, when I turn around, my client is dead, bullet hole in the back of their head. Whistling, I just take their everything out of their wallet. I sigh, firing a homing shot, and hear an "urk" not too far. Looks like I hit the culprit. I emptied their wallet while they were blacked out, and called the cops. Job well done, if I say so myself. Not only did I get the contents of two wallets, I stopped a criminal and found someone I wasn't fond of dead. Today was a good day as I go back to base and tell Xeno what happened. "Well good for you. Now as your reward, there is none! Mostly because your reward WAS the content of their wallets, but in reality it's because we are both broke so it is not like we can afford any rewards anyway." Cool, I didn't mind. Wait, why is everything fading? Oh right, the culprit was found.

As we re-enter the 50th floor, we already knew who did it. The blood pattern, the weapon, everything led us to realize who actually did it. As the elevator door opened, the detective was there. "How's the investigating going fellas?" He says as we cut his head off. We check his pockets and, sure enough, his murder pen is in there. Oh yeah, and we also take the contents of his wallet. While looking through his wallet, though, we find an interesting note. "Trial 4: Detective Task. Teams must be good at observation, so they must figure out who murdered the Pokemon. You will play the detective who is actually the murderer and the one who sends the team on the wild goose chase. I chose you because I had little faith in you and expected you to die. Good to know you signed the contract saying you are fine with this." –Rayquaza. Seems like this was our trial. Whatever, we proceed to the next section.

"You think the bodies were dead before-hand and Rayquaza just made them look like it was the detective or did the detective actually murder the Pokemon?" I ask Xeno. He is quick with his response. "Probably just made to look like they murdered them. I heard bodies went missing from some cemetery, so that's probably where they went." Ah, I see. Well, either way, our work here is done, let's get a move on.

END OF CHAPTER!

Xeno and DarkSide have found out who fake-killed the innocent bystander, it was the detective! Honestly, it seems like filler, but it's not! And if you do think it's filler, well I promise it won't be like that NEXT TIME!


	5. Part 5: Gang of Pain

LAST TIME!  
Ok, I admit it, it was filler. But this won't be.

(Xeno's PoV)

A.N.K. Tower  
51F

As we continue down our path, we see a shadow void portal appear in front of us. Out of it comes what appears to be a Necrozma, only different. We already know who it is. "Hey Ztar Lord," says DarkSide.

(Ztar Lord  
Race: Necrozma  
Real Name: (He has none)  
Gender: Male  
Age: ? (He acts like he's 17)  
Type: Psychic/?  
Ability: Own View (Ignores resistances, Wonder Guard, and immunities, powers up ? moves in a pinch)  
Story: Kicked out of Ultra Space at a young age, he fell into the Dark Hole ( A dimensional phenomenon that only occured once in the Base Dimention/Dimension 1, it's a black hole consumed by dark matter and antimatter, Xeno made some sweet rings out of its core) and absorbed its power. He returned to Ultra Space where he challenged the ruler of Ultra Space and her 2 best guards to a game of Mario Party 1. He won every board, except for Mario's Rainbow Castle. He then got the name Ztar Lord because he got nothing but Ztars on that board. He now trains SoulVaati in secrecy in the way of ? type moves and lives in Xeno and DarkSide's base as one who has signed the Contract of the Guardian. He works with Deoxys and Rayquaza (not Palkia, he got fired) in protecting the Space of every Dimension.  
Likes: SoulVaati, Space, Winning in Mario Party, Playing as Waluigi, Power, His Allies  
Dislikes: Ultra Beasts, Being Weak, Losing in Mario Party (He destroys a planet or two to calm himself down), Being Caught (He destroys his Pokeball), Losing Allies  
Favorite Food: Dark Matter and Anti Matter  
Items: Rainbow Amplifier (Doubles damage dealt), Dark/Anti Containment Unit (Stores Dark/Anti Matter), Prism of the Unknown (Lets him see the future)  
Design: Necrozma with Guardian Markings (Signifies that he's a Guardian), Constantly Covered in Light  
Titles: Ztar Lord, Guardian of Dark Matter, Guardian of Anti Matter)

Last time we saw Ztar Lord, he was chillaxing in our base, not interested with the tower. Even though it belonged to his coworker, he just said "I don't trust it, I'm not going with you," yet here he is. Maybe Giratina, his father, sent him here for training, or maybe he's investigating. Either way, to quote HCBailey, "MORE PARTY MEMBERS!", I silently scream.

"What's next, newborns?" DarkSide says in response to my comment. We welcome Ztar Lord on our team, with a promise to play Mario Party 3 once we get to the top. We will also let him be Waluigi, which gets his hopes up.

As we continue through the floor, we eventually find a door, which is strange since there has been no other doors up to this point. As we enter the door, we see that this whole block of the tower is one giant town! Also, there are many other staircases leading here, signifying that this must be the point where every team meets. Seeing a sign, we approach it. The sign reads, "Welcome to Gadgetzan 2.0!", though the population amount is unreadable due to the fact that there are multiple bullet holes in it. Considering what a disaster the last Gadgetzan was, due to the fact that we blew it up, we are expecting more cruelty, more gangs, and more dragon attacks. In preparation, I swap to my Dragon Priest cards over my Purify Priest cards. However, upon closer inspection of the sign, one of the bullet holes is actually a button! After pushing the button, a miniature hologram of Rayquaza appears before us.

"Congratulations on getting this far! Now is, in my opinion, the hardest block. You will have to get to the leaders of each gang and defeat them in combat. Once defeated, they will give you a badge to signify that you beat them. Once you get all 8 badges, return to here and put them under the scanner. However, other contestants can steal your badges in any way possible, whether it be knocking you out and taking them or just stealing them when you aren't looking, all is fair game. Of course, you can do the same to them. And don't try to hide the fact that you have one, the giant scoreboard on the walls display everyone that has a certain badge. Happy hunting!" The hologram disappears, and we now know our task: gather the 8 badges of the gang leaders and return here.

We went to town and, to our dismay, there was a gang war going on for territory. Looking at the bosses of each gang, we notice a strange satchel on both of them, each with a symbol different from their gang logo. "If I was a gambling 'mon, I would say that's where the badges are," Ztar Lord suggests to us. It does make sense that they would keep the badges on them at all times, which makes it a perfect opportunity to swipe some. It probably would have been hard if Ztar Lord and myself didn't have psychic powers. Two down, six to go.

As we continue through the city, going through dark alleyways, we run into something really dangerous: a thug. Not just any thug, a contestant. Looking at the strap they are wearing, they have 3 different badges. "Hey punk, give me your badges or else I will send you to the bottom of this place!" How cute, he is threatening us. I let Ztar Lord have the honors, and man was it entertaining to watch each individual part of the thug's body to disintegrate in a pool of dark matter. Luckily, we swiped the badges before they disappeared into what I can only assume to be the anti-void. Five badges with ease, this plot is almost over.

Continuing down the path, we run into a worn-down shop, inside of it is a Shiny Kecleon, blue stripe and all. "Don't worry, I may be a contestant but I don't think I can go on too well. However, I am selling the badges I did get for a price." We see some badges that we don't own, the last three in fact. We may be poor, but we were able to cough up some funds to buy the last three badges, and by "we" I mean Ztar Lord. That's all of them, let's head back.

Approaching the entryway sign, we slot in the 8 gang badges into the empty spaces. Suddenly, we are surrounded by a bright light and transported into a grid-like area. It's all blue and shiny. Suddenly, the same sign appeared and lifted from the ground! It was a giant robot shaped after a Garbodor. We prepare for battle and spring into action. We each focus on a part: Ztar Lord is aiming for the below the waist, DarkSide is taking the parts between the neck and the waist, and I get the head. Its movement staggers heavily, and it keeps swinging wildly, flinging random toxic and nuclear wastes around the battlefield. Good thing we can defy physics entirely and stand on the mechanical menace sideways. Eventually, it falls over, and we finish it off. Looking down from our current location, we realize that our battle took place above the city. And in front of us is the stair case to the next quadrant of A.N.K. Tower. We are prepared for everything that lies ahead, so we move on.

"What a trip, I wonder what ideas come up next quadrant," I ponder as we go towards the stairs.  
Such an interesting design, albeit flawed due to how badges can be obtained. If we could only get them by battling the gang leaders, maybe it would have been a challenge," DarkSide considers how everything worked.  
"Shame I have to leave these guys, dad called and he said he needed to train me even more," Ztar Lord feels slight sorrow, but he knows he will see us again, so he gets over it fast.

END OF CHAPTER!

Xeno, DarkSide, and Ztar Lord have gone through Gadgetzan 2.0, collected all 8 gang badges, and defeated the Robo-Garbodor! However, they are only halfway there, and soon they will be down a party member. When will this end, what challenges lay ahead for the Dimensional Guardians, and will there be more filler in the future? Find out next time on Xeno and DarkSide: A.N.K. Tower!


	6. Part 6: Now You're Awakening With Portal

You get the gist of it…  
(DarkSide's PoV)

A.N.K. Tower  
51F

As we rise to the next floor, we quickly notice that Ztar Lord has left our party. It doesn't matter, really, considering that he told us that he needed to go back to his father. Walking forward, I notice a sign in front of us. It shows us that this floor is quite the maze, but the interesting part is that there are multiple staircases listed. It seemed confusing at first, then we looked down and notice really tiny print. Like, size 4 font print. Taking out a random magnifying glass from hyperspace, I read the print aloud. "Now is the time to think with portals. Do you have a pen(cil) and paper?" "Thinking with portals? What's next, fake cake?" I say, only aware of the rhyme after I have said it. Xeno is slightly chuckling, but either way we know the gimmick: portals. We shall not map out the floors, it may get complicated. We enter the first portal we see, a light blue one with an image of a city in it.

A.N.K. Tower  
55F

Thanks to the title card, we discover that we have traveled to a completely different floor than the next one in numerical order. How strange, it seems that the portals change throughout the floor. However, we accidentally slip backwards. Even Guardians have slippery footwork. We fall back into the portal.

A.N.K. Tower  
52F

Ok, this is getting freaky. Now the portal we come from doesn't lead to the portal we thought was linked to it, it leads to a completely different portal. "Hey Xeno, should we even try to go through the maze and its hordes of Pokemon?" I ask my companion. "Technically speaking, if we keep going into the portal we come from, we will eventually end up at the top. Probability, you know?" Oh I know alright. It may seem tedious, but we would rather not bother writing down more fight scenes than we have to. It's not like our entire life revolves around battle and interesting plot. There is always filler, no matter what. So let's use this time to have a Q&A, shall we?

…so it turns out no one ever comments on our stories, aside from this one guy/gal. And it's not like (s)he is asking questions, so how about I give myself some backstory? More specifically, my home, the Shadow World. I see no one saying no, yet no one saying yes, so I might as well just go along with it.

Basically, the Shadow World is where shadows live, except they don't actually live. Shadows are bound to the ones that cast them, therefore they must do every action their real world counterpart does, regardless of what it is. It's not like they can complain, shadows lack free will, emotions, a conscience, and everything else a real person has. The only exception is me, and that's because I gained beyond godlike powers.

But let's hypothetically say that shadows did have those things, it's not like they can do much with it. Between the normal and shadow world is something called the Shadow Barrier, which prevents shadows from crossing into the real world. It is the job of the Guardian of Shadows (not me, but Yal- OH, SPOILER ALERT!) to make sure the Shadow Barrier stays intact. The only reason I escaped and can go in and out of the Shadow World whenever I want is because the Shadow Barrier was built to keep in the strongest shadow at the time. Key words being AT THE TIME. I'm stronger than the barrier, therefore I can break through it.

Ok, I admit it, this is filler. But was it good filler? You tell me. Oh hey, we're at the boss!

A.N.K. Tower  
60F

As we jump through the last portal, we see an obsidian juggernaut. A Golurk made out of the hardest materials known to Mon. We can't even scratch it with everything. It is then that Xeno gets a brilliant idea. He pulls out an all too familiar mask, and I do the same. We gather the strength inside of us, and throw the masks onto our faces as hard as we can. Just before they hit our face, we scream the special word.

"PERSONA!"

The masks burst into blue flames, and arise our Personas! For Xeno, the mighty Persona fallen angel Satanael, and for myself, the Shadow bringer of death Reaper! They strike a pose, and we are ready, with Marie's version of "Face Myself" playing in the background. Satanael holds the mighty Obsidian Golurk still with his hat hands, while Reaper uses his dual pistols to fire elemental bullets, piercing the Golurks flesh! It falls to the ground before exploding into a dark mist. Our Personas look back at us, give us a thumbs up, and disappear, changing into their masks once again. We proceed going up, smiling back at our masks.

END OF CHAPTER!

Xeno and DarkSide have reawakened their Personas, Satanael and Reaper, and defeated the mighty Obsidian Golurk! But what awaits our heroes next, and will their Personas be able to destroy whatever stands in their way? Probably, but find out next time in Xeno and DarkSide: A.N.K. Tower!


	7. Part 7: Surprising 6-Way Crossover

…  
(Xeno's PoV)

A.N.K. Tower  
61F

As we enter the room, I notice a golden portal right above us. Falling down in a comedic way from it was a warrior with a multitude of clothing. It almost made them seem ridiculous. The warrior glowed a bright white light, and turned into five. It was the Galaxia Squad!

(Galaxia Squad, 5 members, Silver the Hedgehog (Leader), Meta Knight, Bowser, Zero (Megaman X) Dark Pit)  
(Warriors chosen by the blade Galaxia, Each wield Galaxia as well as their old powers, Made contracts with Guardian(s) of All Dimensions)

Four of them teleport away, leaving Silver by himself. "Glad you could make it, bud!" I said to Silver. It's been a while since we last saw each other, one month I believe. He usually has FBI work, but it seems he was on break. Guess he followed us here due to sheer boredom.

"Glad to be back in the plot. Say, have you seen Sans recently? I need to test some things with him," seems Silver and Sans have been testing something. Looking at his pockets, I notice in one of them a mask. Silver has recently gotten his own Persona, Izanagi-no-Okami, and so has Sans, Trumpeter. We inform him that Sans is up a few blocks, so he decides to tag with us to get there faster. MORE PARTY MEMBERS!

A.N.K. Tower  
62F

We blaze through our enemies using our Personas, until eventually we reach what appears to be an entirely circular room. From above drops a portal, forcing us into it.

When we reawaken, we see multiple pods with words above them. "Path of Ordeals, Path of Horror, and Path of Technology," Silver reads out. After some talk, we decide to split up: I will go down the Path of Ordeals, DarkSide will go down the Path of Horror, and Silver shall go down the Path of Technology.

A.N.K. Tower  
Path of Ordeals (Xeno's PoV)

At first, it seemed to be just one hallway. Simple enough really, until I started taking some steps. Traps triggered, but I swiftly dodged them. I decide to run ahead in case of any other traps, and I was right, as the exact same traps keep repeating over and over. In fact, this hallway is repeating over and over!

Whatever is up ahead is always in pitch darkness, and it just never ends. I'm running through at high speeds, but I can't track any progress. It's not like I'm being teleported back, I checked, and I'm just constantly going forward. The flooring isn't a treadmill, there are no optical illusions, I feel like I'm running at a very slight incline, but other than that nothing changes. There are no windows, only lanterns with green flames to light up the hallway. Why does it never end?!

A.N.K. Tower  
Path of Horrors (DarkSide's PoV)

Going through this path, ball of light in hand, I barely react to any of the jumpscares and cardboard cutouts attempting to be threatening. Please, I have seen much worse. However, it doesn't seem to be ending, and I am going upwards.

Strangely, the more I go through this place, the more realistic everything becomes. Cardboard cutouts are becoming clay models attached to strings, which are slowly becoming animatronics with murderous programming. Jumpscares are becoming holograms, and now bloody faces appear from time to time. I have counted 802, one for every Pokemon in the National Dex.

The bloody faces now start resembling those I have slaughtered in the past, yet I feel no remorse. Each and every victim had it coming. Then, something I didn't expect happened. Living versions of the corpses of my victims appear, and they are the real deal! No matter how much I cut them down, they come back up, as if nothing happened. Is this the end? Will I forever be covered in corpses, unable to fling them off me? Hopefully not.

A.N.K. Tower  
Path of Technology (Silver's PoV)

Inside of this path, everything seemed old, inferior, and downright not working. It's as if everything in the room was made by Neanderthals. Oh wait, it IS Neanderthal tech, it is the oldest technology afterall.

As I proceed down this seemingly never-ending hallway, the tech advances to caveman type tech. Wheels made of stone as well as fire pits are scattered around, some still lit. They are probably being used as a trap, in an attempt to light me on fire. Luckily, almost anything can be quelled with psychic powers.

Continuing onwards, the technology advanced again, this time with an ancient Egyptian feeling. Traps shoot out darts and arrows from the floor and wall, spears pop out at random, and the place is filled with Cofagrigus. They are easy to avoid, albeit time consuming.

I keep running, but skid to a stop right before I get hit in the face by a mace. Seems we have upgraded to medieval times. Escavaliers roam the halls, requiring some stealth, with trap doors placed from floor panel to floor panel in an attempt to hinder my progress. Luckily, Escavaliers can't see above their armor, so I just hovered over most of them.

We have now upgraded to facing middle age traps, such as spikes popping up from tiny holes in the ground. As a video game character, they are lethal. Moats filled with hungry Feraligatrs and Murder Holes with even hungrier Lycanrocs, ready to tear the flesh off and organs out of anything that is unfortunate enough to fall into their domain.

I have officially entered the Machine Age, and now there are actual machines. Though it is the machine age, there are plenty of voodoo dolls attempting to be used against me. Multiple attempts at blinding me with bright lights, and Rube Goldberg machines that seem to take a few minutes to activate are easily avoided.

A.N.K. Tower  
Path of Ordeals (Xeno's PoV)

Ok seriously, who thought this was a good idea? It just never ends, like that infinite staircase from Mario 64. Unlike that staircase, however, I can't long jump skip up it. There is tedium, there is going through sloppy designed areas, there is attempting to be original on the internet, and then there is this on the scale of "why bother?". Actually, scratch that, being original on the internet is WAY more "why bother?" than this.

It's not like I'm not trying, I really am. It's just that this place takes what feels like an eternity to make progress. I could have probably walked up the building and onto the roof over 50 times with how much I have currently walked. Supernatural forces HAVE to be at work because there is literally no other explanation. Otherwise, this is more impressive than what ridiculous things someone could do while drunk.

Not that I know what it feels like to be drunk, but I assume it feels like you're on auto mode, except the auto mode was programmed by bad decisions and you have sporadic amnesia. Also, you can't tell if you are lying or telling the truth. And you be a huge jerk to your post-drunk self. Followed by you figuring out what your drunk-self did, and hating it. Still not going to every get drunk or drink alcohol in general, well, 99.9% sure I won't. You never know what the world will throw at you to make you change.

Am I done yet? Can I fight the boss with my allies yet? Is it time to stop yet? Why must all my questions end with "yet"? Is the story close to being finished yet? Can I be finished yet? Not like I can back down, it will take just as much time as it did to get up to this point as it would to go back down. Why did I choose this path? Is that a light? OMIGOD IT'S THE EXIT!

A.N.K. Tower  
Path of Horror (DarkSide's PoV)

I don't want to be here anymore. Not because I'm scared out of my wits, but because the infinite zombies went from scary to boring. They don't even walk that fast. How horrible. Well, atleast it seems that I am done.

A.N.K. Tower  
Path of Technology (Silver's PoV)

I got to scan these things later, they are quite high tech. Some of this stuff I have never seen before. Maybe they are from the distant future, or possibly very rare and expensive. Either way, it seems I am finished.

A.N.K. Tower  
70F (Xeno's PoV)

We all reach our destination at the exact same spot. Makes it kind of redundant for us to all split up when we could have just gone together. We see our foe, a giant pile of corpses in a living form, equipped with futuristic technology. As if it was a combination of all the ordeals. Of course, it's basically a zombie, so the armor doesn't do much for it. In fact, it actually hinders it. We push the futuristic armor, causing it to go inside the giant zombie, making it implode on itself. Not too hard. We wave goodbye to Silver as he gets back to his job, and we continue onwards.

END OF CHAPTER!

Xeno, DarkSide, and Silver have made it through the three paths and defeated the future corpse pile. But what awaits our heroes on the next ward? Find out next time!


	8. Part 8: Unknown Yet Very Unown But Not

Boom! I'm back, baby!

(DarkSide's PoV)

A.N.K. Tower  
71F

As we go through the twisting maze that is the tower, we start noticing the lack of an immediate gimmick. The only difference is the layout of the floor. However, we did not immediately notice that the gimmick was right in front of us. Unown. Unown everywhere the eye can see. It's actually making it hard to see, with all of them watching and attacking us. Some of them are even coordinating attacks in different styles than the last. Some of them even spell out letters and sentences. It's madness, I tell ya

"Why all the Unown? I thought the tower was supposed to get harder the higher up we go," Xeno said. It was a valid point. There was no reason for some of the weakest Pokemon to be on some of the higher floors. "Maybe it's due to how coordinated Unown can be with eachother. Some Pokemon don't like working together, but Unowns are known for swarms of thousands, even millions and beyond. Guess it's just strength in numbers, quantity over quality," I told Xeno.

It was an interesting theory from across the internet that the Unown helped with creating the universe, and that they were Ultra Beasts. Want to know Arceus' reason for making them? It was, and I quote, "I didn't want to show my presence to tell the legendaries to do their menial tasks, so I made the Unown spell out what I wanted instead. Also really useful for debates on universe making, those things are." It was a simple existence for them, but they weren't bothered by it. At least they could swear at Arceus when they were tired of getting bossed around, followed by being smitten. They were pests to us, constantly using Hidden Power. It didn't do that much, and it only just pushed us back a tiny bit. At least we got past them.

A.N.K. Tower  
72F

"Oh my, what is this, I don't even," was the first words that came out of our mouth when we went onto the next floor. We heard rumors about it, but we never knew they could actually do it. It was none other than an army of Unown Giants. Millions of Unown combining together to create a godlike form. Arceus told us about it, but he said it wasn't common unless the Unown were protecting something. And now we are seeing a lot of them. No matter how many times we try to separate them to weaken them, they just come back like my lovers. It's even worse that we chose to weaken ourselves for the dungeon.

Out of the corner of our eyes, we saw a golden artifact. Though looking closely, you can tell it's gold tinfoil. An obvious trap, but we want to see it. Picking up the "artifact", the Unown Giants turned to us like a Phanto that just had its key stolen. We decided to book it, while they gave chase. They run like athletes, but we run like gods! They can't catch up with us, as we outrun them up the stairs. What we didn't realize is that they chased us up them

A.N.K. Tower  
73F

As we go up the stairs, another "golden artifact" lands on our heads, and the Unown Giants on this floor get pissed. We start running like it's a Scooby Doo scene. We run through different hallways and somehow keep ending up on different sides of the wall and ceiling, all 103 different sides to be exact. And don't ask how thin the doors are and how we are able to walk through them, because no one asks that. And don't ask it in the comments, you devils! But seriously, what's with this place? We have been going through so many different obstacles, and it always ends so quickly. Our friends come and go for so many different reasons, just to introduce the other OC's. But I know what you're here for, the ending. Well you know what, screw it! Long story made shorter, every floor has an artifact and we keep taking them until we reach the end. Let's blow this joint, we have two parts to go after this and I am already working on Part 9 and have the plot ready for Part 10, let's end this once and for all so my mind can finally be at ease!

A.N.K. Tower  
80F

We are basically full in our arms of tin foil covered clay statues that haven't even hardened. We look back and finally notice that all those Unown have chased us into this room. We were cornered, and they started molding together. Fifty of every Pokemon, with an army of millions of Unwon Giants. But it's Unowns, they aren't too threatening! Throw down, it's time to strap these suckers into death!

Slashing them into bits, hearing them all screaming even with the lack of mouths. Blood drips everywhere we look, even on our blades. But that won't stop us, we keep slashing, ignoring the painful screams. We are tired at this point and really want to set up a camp, but we mustn't falter. Eventually, we will win. Let's just go.

END OF CHAPTER!  
Xeno, DarkSide, and myself are sick of this. It's ending soon, so Hallelujah! *sigh* I'm going to finish this for good, then I can work on The Personas and their adventure.


	9. Part 9: The Crossover Menagerie

You know the drill, let's get on with it!  
(Xeno's PoV Once Again)

A.N.K. Tower  
81F

As we enter the next floor, no staircase is in sight. Suddenly, a void-like portal appears, and a shady figure pops out. Wearing dark armor and holding a blade made of gears and…bones? "Is this some kind of alternate reaper?" I think to myself. Without any sign, it attacks! I pull out my blade and slash, but it just teleports out of the way! "What are you?!" I scream as I run towards it. "Oh, did I forget to take the armor off? Sorry." What is it talking about? It removes it's armor and… oh. 

"Sorry for attacking you…Sans."  
(Sans: Skeleton, Universe: Undertale,  
{Past: I met him at an unfortunate time: his death. Luckily, DarkSide and myself saved him before any harm could come to him. I didn't know why, but I felt a need to do the right thing inside his poor soul. So, I took him under my wing. He's gone to train back at his place, but it seems he has returned}  
{Weapon: Void Bone [custom made by DarkSide, Keyblade, turns into a sweet hovercycle, also came with armor]}  
{Outfit: Blue hoodie, black sweat shorts, pink fluffy slippers}  
{Alternate Outfit: Keyblade Armor [Similar to the one Ventus Nightmare wears, but has bones and SOULS on it}  
{Misc: Can absorb alternate versions of himself to gain their powers, don't try to hurt his brother})

"It's alright, man. I haven't seen you in a while, so I guess I can understand the confusion." Sans is very forgiving with my actions. "So I bet you want to know why I'm here. Well, I'm a temporary party member. You know who else is? Everyone else." Suddenly, he teleports behind us, but we don't care at this point. It seems we have a new party member, I guess? We proceed to the next floor.

"Shame that this is almost over, but things can't get much worse for him, right? I'm sure he is fine." I wonder about everyone else's wellbeing.

"Sans should provide quite the ally for these next floors. He is a powerful fighter that can most likely synergize with our attacks. Key word being most likely." DarkSide is making theoretical synergy scenarios in his head.

A.N.K. Tower  
82F

As we enter the floor, Sans notices a peculiar sight. It's a sign with the words "Menagerie" on it. "Menageries are creature collections. I guess Rayquaza has been making himself a collection of ravenous Pokemon. I can tell there are ravenous by the fact that all of the areas have danger signs on them. But that's only a guess." I explain. However, it seems that many of the areas that should have Pokemon in them are missing, with the doors wide open. We shudder, but we see what is happening. The menagerie warden, a robot designed to look like Regigigas, is releasing all the Pokemon!

"Stop what you're doing this instant!" I screamed at the warden, but he turned around and started attacking us. We fought back, of course. I turned my blades to electric, and shocked the warden, causing him to power down. DarkSide proceeded to fix the robotic warden from his glitchy state, causing him to reactivate as normal.

"My apologies for attacking you. I was in an uncontrollable state." For a robotic voice, the warden sounds very sorry. "Yeah, whatever. Now if you will excuse us, we will be on our way to the top." As we try to go up the stairs, the menagerie warden blocks us. 

"If you are going to go throughout the rest of the floors on this block of the tower, I suggest you return each Pokemon back to their area. The whole block is the menagerie, so try getting each Pokemon back to their specific area. Each floor has a mechanism that does not allow anyone to go up the floors is the ravenous Pokemon are out of their cages. I am only strong enough to handle the Pokemon on this floor, so you will have to return them yourselves. Good luck." The menagerie warden proceeded to get out of our way, and we went up the stairs. "Seems like we have a little quest going onwards through this block. I have never been one to back down from a challenge like this, so bring it on!" I start getting pumped up. 

"I dread to see why these Pokemon are considered ravenous. Then again, I am also excited to see why they are ravenous, so I'm very conflicted." DarkSide is pondering.  
"Maybe they would stop for food? Actually, I feel like they might think we are food, so that isn't a good plan, is it?" Sans is thinking of something.

A.N.K. Tower  
83F

There is another sign as we enter the next floor.  
"Shadow Pokemon. Threat Level: 3/10. Description: Pokemon that have been corrupted by battle and had the door to their heart closed. They are merciless, yet they are unable to level up, making them really harmless. Please do not purify, I need them for my collection." I read what the sign says to Sans and DarkSide.

"Bit rude of him to not purify Shadow Pokemon on purpose, right?" DarkSide makes a good point. But it's Rayquaza's tower, we shouldn't complain about his choices. We begin rounding up Shadow Pokemon back to their cages, eventually getting all of them into custody once again. If I had to say, the best way to beat Shadow Pokemon would be to lure them with snacks. The barrier surrounding the stairs disappear, and we head on through.

"I knew snacks would work. I just knew it!" Sans is celebrating in his head.  
"Strange that snacks lured them to their cells. Maybe they mistook it for Pokemon meat?" DarkSide is wondering about the Shadow Pokemon's logic.  
"Snacks. It just HAD to be snacks." I made a reference.

A.N.K. Tower  
84F

Another sign. Wonder what's on this one.

"Zombie Pokemon. Threat Level: 4/10. Description: Pokemon from the Snakewood Universe that were turned into zombies due to an unfortunate plague. Though not contagious, they can be harmful if not given proper guidance. As such, I have neglected them to make the most viscous they could be. Because screw you, that's why."

What a jerkish thing to do. At least their defenses were that of normal corpses. We threw them in and headed on up!

A.N.K. Tower  
85F

Alright, next description.

"Pokemon Souls. Threat Level: 6/10. Description: Pokemon Souls are the souls of those who have fallen, yet have not become Ghost Pokemon. Pokemon Souls wander lost, looking to take out their anger and sadness of dying on unsuspecting suckers. They may even attempt to take your body, so be careful!"

At least he gave us a warning. Not like our souls can be removed, they are quite sturdy. Onwards and upwards, because I'm sick of this.

A.N.K. Tower  
89F

Did we skip floors? No no, it's your imagination. Next sign!

"PokeGods. Threat Level: 9/10. Description: Scientificly photoshopped 8-bit images from the First Generation, these were intended to fool unsuspecting internet skimmers into thinking there were gods in Pokemon Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow. Ridiculous names, stupid designs, and overpowered descriptions, I just had to bring them to life."

"Did someone say god?" Sans said as he put on a mask, bringing his Persona out. The musician of Heaven and Hell, Trumpeter! Our Personas made this easier. Over and out!

I'm getting lazy. Tl;dr, capture on! Fun fact: this was originally supposed to be Chapter 3, but I scrapped that idea and used it for Chapter 9.

A.N.K. Tower  
90F

For some reason, Floor 90 is one huge room with multiple empty cages. We wonder what this means, but I find a sign and read it to the others. 

"Infected Pokemon. Threat Level: 11/10. Infected with an ancient power that little know much about, Infected Pokemon only know one thing: Kill. It does not matter who you are, they want you dead. Surprisingly, some are able to control Infected Pokemon and make them follow their orders, but those who can usually are corrupt. Don't try to fight them, not only can they infect you by injecting the infection, but some are able to match my mega evolution's strength." We get a bit scared, and it doesn't help that on the back of the sign, the words, "ALL SHALL BE TURNED" is written in what I really really hope to be messy red ink.

Suddenly, some "messy red ink" that was used to write that horrible message starts dripping onto our head. Chills go down our spines, as we look up and witness the entire ceiling covered in Infected Pokemon, with evil grins on their faces. Their eyes are permanently dripping blood and they have a skull and crossbones on their foreheads, not to mention some other minor details. They jump down on us, catching us off guard!

We start having difficulty deflecting their attacks, due to the fact that they have no attack patterns, but we are able to learn their tricks and block incoming moves. We attack with our blades and Personas, but they seem to keep getting up after each attack. 

"We need a new strategy to keep these guys down!" I yell over the constant growling of the Infected. "How about we hit them into these cages? They probably held them before the menagerie warden released them, so they should work again!" DarkSide yells his plan to us, and we all begin to make our moves. Using a combination of Wind Blade and Time Blade, I am able to hit the Infected Pokemon into their cells, as well as freezing them in time so once they are unfrozen, they will already be locked in. Meanwhile, DarkSide is blinding them with his Light and Darkness, making them unable to escape the cages before they get shut. Sans is using his teleportation to teleport Infected Pokemon back into their cages within an instant. Eventually, they are all locked back up in their cells, and the barrier blocking the staircase was open.

"Was this supposed to be the final trial? It wouldn't make sense, considering how many we had to deal with. How is anyone else supposed to defeat them?" I wonder about other strategies that could have been used to defeat the Infected Pokemon.  
"I'm going to have to ask Xeno to rinse me off when we I get the chance. They stained my clothes with their blood." DarkSide is looking at the mess they made, which was a huge one.  
"It seems my time is almost up. I will have to abandon them next floor, so I hope they are prepared." Sans is getting ready to take his leave.

END OF CHAPTER!  
Xeno, DarkSide, and Sans were able to recapture all of the escaped Pokemon from the menagerie. After completing the third trial, an army of Infected Pokemon, our heroes go onwards, except for Sans who goes elsewhere. The end is near, but find out soon how this thrilling saga finishes!


	10. Part 10 Finale: Roof of The Universe!

It's time to end this!  
(Xeno's PoV)

A.N.K. Tower  
91F

I am glad, yet saddened, that this adventure is almost over. And to remind us of the adventure, these layouts are representing the wards. We notice that the entire room is clear, and outside is space, representing our arrival at the final frontier. Many dangerous traps are on every tile, causing us to be very fumbly with each and every step. We even see the last of the contestants, which we proceed to beat to a pulp. We will win, for we must.

A.N.K. Tower  
92F

Not so suprisingly, since Part 2 was mostly trivial facts, we are shown quizzes about ourselves, our friends, and the tower. The fact that everything we need to know is uploaded online makes it much easier. It seems the rest of the rooms from here-on-out will have clear walls, showing how far we have come. Have we backed down, we may have never seen this, but we did not.

A.N.K. Tower  
93F

As accustomed, this floor has a play on it. Singing in the Rain, and everyone is pissed at us. Good thing everyone was water type, Sunny Day wrecked them. You have read thus far, and I am thankful for what I have brought

A.N.K. Tower  
94F

Everything has gone greyscale, and we are being used as attorneys in this mock trial. Nothing too hard, since we have all the evidence. It must be testing our logical skills. All we have known is being tested at this point, no backing down!

A.N.K. Tower  
95F

We are thrown immediately into a gang war. We decimate both sides. Picking sides is foolish in the grand scheme, considering that the ending is never worth seeing. My god, that last sentence was a lie, your choices do matter!

A.N.K. Tower  
96F

Portal mazes. It's filler. Blah. It's almost over, so I just want to end it fast.

A.N.K. Tower  
97F

Three doors, we go through all of them. Good thing we did, considering the fact that the barrier wouldn't open if we didn't. Grueling as it is, we must push forward, for our task is almost over.

A.N.K. Tower  
98F

An Indiana Jones style temple was our next location, complete with boulders. Unbeknownst to us, a great terror is coming soon.

A.N.K. Tower  
99F

Pokemon go in cages, and we do not rages. Rhyming, why? Don't know, just is.

A.N.K. Tower  
100F/Roof

"About time you got here! I thought you were getting bored and quit!" Rayquaza is in a giant pool, along with our friends throughout this adventure. Arceus and Giratina are getting tipsy at the bar, but we don't care. The Galaxia Squad is doing karaoke, but we don't care. We jump into the pool and enjoy ourselves. We deserved it, after all.

"Simple fools, so easily entertained. Come, let me end this once and for all!" A dark voice is heard, and everyone here is engulfed in a black fog. Appearing in a psychedelic dark room, a giant evil is present. There is no backing down, we must save the party to make this all worth it. Myself and DarkSide fuse, Arceus and Giratina fuse, SoulVaati and Ztar Lord fuse, The Galaxia Squad and Sans fuse, and lastly Rayquaza and Deoxys fuse. We take out our masks to face life's hardships, and…

PERSONA!

The King of the Soul Business, Grim! The Beginning and The End, Almega! The Corrupt Guardian of all that is Holy and Unholy, Magatsu Telos! The Messenger of the Afterlife, Skelthoven-no-Okami! And the Sound Barrier's Bane, SoundShred! We are all sick and tired of this, let's end it for good!

We all gather together to focus our energy while our Personas keep the monster at bay. Crossing our blades, our power, we are ready to take on all that stand in our way! FINAL ELEMENTAL BREAKER! With a fire of the beam, the beast is no more. We can enjoy our adventure. As a gift for making it to the top and fighting with him to protect existence, we get a gift from Rayquaza, who is wearing a snazzy Medivh costume, with his very own Atiesh.

YOU GOT THE ELEVATOR PASS! Now you can automatically get to the top whenever you like!

Looking up, we notice the tower's top is placed outside the Universe. No wonder he didn't want anyone flying their way up. Medivh-quaza presses a button, and we are treated to a beautiful display of exploding stars. It is finally over, we have won. You just got PWNed, S.T.W.

END OF STORY!

Xeno and DarkSide have finally scaled A.N.K. Tower, and danced the night away to some Bloody Tears! I hope you enjoyed the saga! Also, did you find the secret message in the Chapter?

NEXT TIME/PREVIEW!

(Satanael's PoV)

It's been a while since I first awoke. Five months, if I remember correctly. There is myself, Reaper, Messiah, Satan, Izanagi-no-Okami, Trumpeter, Magatsu Izanagi, Orpheus Telos, Thanatos, and Kaguya. We are all Personas of different people, yet we are all linked. This day, however, would be a new experience. Something none of us expected. Today was the day we traveled to a new place beyond us, beyond our owners even. A place far from the star chart DarkSide has created, a whole new planet. A place of new creatures, new friends, new foes, and new environments.

"These don't look like normal Pokemon. Probably some sort of monster. I will erase you for Team Glam." That flower is the most emo thing I have ever seen. Okay, she is second to Squall, but other than him, most emo thing ever. "I don't know what a "Team Glam" is, but it sounds like a combo meal at a fast food place." Thanatos states.

The stone on her necklace flashes, but it does nothing. "Hm? Do these creatures have no soul?" Now she is calling us soulless. The four don't seem to like that statement, and plant her into the ground. Hope she likes the soil.

Looking to our side, we see a message board with multiple requests. Is this where those three found out about us? Messiah approaches the board, looking quite interested. "Let's see here, gone hungry, save my friend, save me, beat this bully, bring me this item, let me show you a secret, come to my party. I could probably learn a lot from these request writers, knowing that survival is impossible, and requesting help when needed. Still don't know how some of these got here, though. Did someone else see them and write down here? In that case, why didn't they save them? Seems a bit rude, if you ask me." Some philosophical insight from our friend, but let's not hope he gets too invested in this, otherwise he will probably study it all night.

"No matter, we shall defeat you here, for we are Team Glam!" said the dog, quite enthusiastically. "Oh, so someone ordered a Team Glam with a side a fries, then you came here! But, where are the fries?" Magatsu Izanagi is angering them with the intention to make them fight recklessly.

Messiah heard them mumbling. "It isn't in my nature to make such rash statements, but you are attempting to be quite menacing even though, if what you say is correct, you are only number two. I'll order the Team Shaymin, whatever that is, thank you very much."


End file.
